USC Welcomes Three New Trustees

The USC Board of Trustees welcomes three USC alumni whose backgrounds span from banking to the lab bench.

Power Player

After years as a top college and professional tennis player, Heliane Steden ’86 took her leadership talents to the business world. Steden serves as a managing director at Merrill Lynch’s flagship international office in New York, where she provides private banking services to clients in Mexico.

Born in Germany and raised in Mexico City, Steden moved to the U.S. in 1983 to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business administration at USC and play tennis for the Women of Troy. As a student-athlete, Steden was a three-time All-American and a member of two national championship teams. Named Mexico’s top female athlete in 1985, she represented the country in both Federation Cup play and the Pan Am Games.

In recognition of her own journey to USC and her rewarding experience as a student-athlete, Steden endowed a scholarship for the Women of Troy tennis program geared for international student-athletes.

Globally Minded

Since graduating from USC, William McMorrow ’69, MBA ’70 has steadfastly backed real estate education and research at the university. He serves on the executive board of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate and recently made a gift to establish the William J. McMorrow Global Real Estate Program at the USC Marshall School of Business. The program will enable undergraduate business majors to learn about international real estate firsthand through trips across the U.S. and abroad, while connecting them with internship positions.

McMorrow is chairman and CEO of Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, an international real estate and financial services firm. Since McMorrow purchased the company in 1988, Kennedy Wilson has grown from one office and 11 employees to a firm with 25 international offices in countries, including the United Kingdom, Spain and Japan.

Cancer Fighter

A third-generation Angeleno, Amy Ross PhD ’86 studied experimental pathology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and worked in the cancer diagnostics field for more than 25 years. Now retired, the former Caltech biologist has authored more than 75 scientific papers and holds three U.S. patents.

At USC, Ross was one of the founding members of the USC Lambda LGBT Alumni Association and served twice as co-president of its board of directors. She also endowed the Amy Ross Scholarship in LGBT Health Studies for students who are advancing LGBT health and wellness. Ross recently completed her term as president of the USC Alumni Association Board of Governors and serves as a member of several USC organizations, including Women of Troy and the USC Trojan Society of Hospitals.